(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a journal form managing method, a transaction processing apparatus and a transaction record journal form, suitable for the record and management of transactions in a POS terminal apparatus.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In the recent years, the commercial transaction circles have introduced the POS (Point Of Sales) system, while a POS terminal has been installed in each of stores or the like. The contents of everyday transactions are inputted to this POS terminal as occasion calls, and thereby information on these transactions are printed as transaction information on a journal form, which is set in the POS terminal, while the transaction information is transmitted through a communication line or the like to a host computer or the like in headquarters, which manages information on the tendency of good selling products, proceeds, and others.
The journal form to be set in the POS terminal is made by rolling up one lengthy paper and, when this journal form is set in the POS terminal and the contents of a transaction is inputted through the POS terminal, the transaction information is printed on receipt paper while being also printed on this journal form.
This journal form is made such that, when the transaction information is printed on its one surface, it is rolled up in a manner that the printed contents appear on the outer circumference of the resultant roll, and the print-finished rolled journal form, made in this way, is taken out from the POS terminal and is in safekeeping as transaction record.
In a prior journal form managing method, when an unprinted journal form is set in a POS terminal at the start of processing by the POS terminal such as the opening of a store, this POS terminal prints identification information (management information), comprising some pieces of information, such as a store number, a POS terminal number, the name of a terminal operator (or a code capable of identifying the terminal operator), the date and time of start of processing, at the leading position of this journal form.
Furthermore, also in the case that the unprinted part of a journal form mounted in the POS terminal runs short and the print-finished rolled journal form is taken out therefrom and replaced by a new unprinted journal form, when the unprinted journal form is set in the POS terminal, the aforesaid identification information are likewise printed at the leading position of the unprinted journal form newly set therein.
Thereafter, whenever a transaction such as buying and selling of goods occurs, the POS terminal operator inputs the contents of the transactions through the POS terminal, and thereby the contents of the transactions are printed on receipt paper and, further, are successively printed as a transaction record on the journal form.
Besides, at the time of the end of everyday transaction such as the closing of the store, the contents of the transactions are adjusted (that is, added up to calculate a total) at each POS terminal, and the result of the adjustment are printed at the rearmost position of a printed transaction record in the rolled journal form.
This print-finished rolled journal form, after being taken out from the POS terminal, is in safekeeping of a person in charge of POS terminal apparatus for a predetermined period of time. The Japanese tax law requires that such a print-finished rolled journal form should be in safekeeping for a predetermined period of time.
In this instance, for example, if an unclear point comes about in the transaction information in the future and hence there is a need to confirm this transaction information, the person in charge of the POS terminal or the like searches for the corresponding print-finished rolled journal form in the storage place, and finds out the transaction information to be examined in the print-finished rolled journal form to confirm the contents of the record printed.
However, in the case of this prior journal form managing method, the identification information is printed at only the leading position of the rolled journal form consequently, in order to confirm the identification information printed on the print-finished rolled journal form and further to specify a desired rolled journal form, there is a need to pull out the leading portion of the print-finished rolled journal form, that is, the portion of the print-finished rolled journal form closest to the core, and further to confirm the identification information printed at its leading position. It therefore involves a great deal of labor to search for the specific print-finished rolled journal form to be examined.
If the desired rolled journal form is identified by the date or time, it is possible to decide as to whether or not a print-finished rolled journal form is the desired one, by slightly pulling out the rearmost portion of the print-finished rolled journal form and referring to the date and time information recorded as transaction information on the journal form, on the basis of that date and time information.
However, particularly in the case that a large number of POS terminals are installed and used within one store as seen in a department store or the like, a large number of print-finished rolled journal forms are created per day, and hence, a great deal of labor is taken for finding a specific rolled journal form to be examined from the large number of rolled journal forms.
Although, in order to facilitate the quick search of a specific rolled journal form to be examined from the large number of rolled journal forms, there is a way that a person in charge of the POS terminal or the like handwrites identification information on an outer circumferential portion or the like of the print-finished rolled journal form when the print-finished rolled journal form is taken out from the POS terminal, such a handwriting way creates a problem in that an error or an omission tends to occur in writing of the identification information.
The present invention has been developed in view of these problems, and it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a journal form managing method, a transaction processing apparatus and a transaction record journal form which are capable of easily and certainly making an identification of a desired rolled journal form by specifically designing a printing portion of identification information on a rolled journal form, thereby shortening the time needed for its retrieval.
For this purpose, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a journal form managing method of, in a transaction processing apparatus which processes data on a transaction, printing information on the transaction as transaction information on a journal form and of rolling the journal form, on which the transaction information is printed, so that the journal form is in safekeeping as a rolled journal form, the method comprising the steps of detecting a timing for taking out the rolled journal form, on which the transaction information is printed, from the transaction processing apparatus, if said timing is detected, printing identification information, which specifies the contents of the transaction information printed on the rolled journal form, in an area appearing at the outermost circumferential portion of the rolled journal form when the rolled journal form is taken out, and taking out the rolled journal form from the transaction processing apparatus for safekeeping.
Furthermore, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a transaction processing apparatus comprising a processing section for processing data on a transaction, a printing section for performing printing on a journal form while rolling the journal form, a transaction information printing control section for controlling the printing section so that information on the transaction is printed on the journal form as transaction information, a detecting section for detecting a timing for taking out the rolled journal form on which the transaction information is printed, and an identification information printing control section for, if the detecting section detects the timing, controlling the printing section so that identification information, which specifies the contents of the transaction information printed on the rolled journal form, is printed in an area appearing at the outermost circumferential portion of the rolled journal form when the rolled journal form is taken out.
Still further, in accordance with this invention, there is provided a transaction record journal form on which information on a transaction is printed as transaction information in a transaction processing apparatus which processes data on the transaction, wherein identification information which specifies the contents of the transaction information printed is printed at its end portion.
Thus, according to the journal form managing method, the transaction processing apparatus and the transaction record journal form provided by this invention, a timing for taking out the rolled journal form, on which the transaction information is printed, from the transaction processing apparatus is detected, and in response to the detection of this timing, identification information which specifies the contents of the transaction information printed on the rolled journal form is printed in an area appearing at the outermost circumferential portion of the rolled journal form when the rolled journal form is taken out, and then, the rolled journal form is taken out from the transaction processing apparatus for safekeeping. This allows an easy identification of the rolled journal form and further an easy search of a specific print-finished rolled journal form, thereby considerably shortening the time needed for its retrieval. In addition, the operator or the like of the transaction processing apparatus is not required to handwrite identification information, which can lighten the labor of the operator or the like of the transaction processing apparatus, and prevents the occurrence of an error or an omission in writing to sharply improve the reliability.